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Loving Those Images, Then–Loving Those Words

What is it about picture books from childhood that is so alluring? I think at first it’s the images. Children are stimulated by images that jump-start the imagination and help a child relate. Isn’t that the charm of GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown? The red balloon and the three bears and the toyhouse are things a child knows and can point to. Then the writer adds those wonderful words that rhyme and a gem is born. The words on the page take the image and enlarge it–the child’s imagination begins to work–and finally, the child makes up her own rhyme with things in her world.

That’s how love of words becomes super-charged. What follows? A love of reading. The gears in that wonderful new brain are set in motion and reading and exploring books becomes a joy and a desire.

Author Martin Amis says: I must have read GOODNIGHT MOON to my children several thousand times, and I was never bored by it. The book has its own soporific poetry–and it quite often worked.”

Books, Books and More Books

Another wonderful aspect of starting a child on the reading journey is the trip to the library. There the world of books is broad and big and exciting. Children race to the stacks and start pulling books from a shelf. To guide them in their choices, here is a list from TIME of the top ten books for children ages 3-11. See how many of these you read as a child or you have read to your children and grandchildren.

Others on the list include: Frog & Toad (series), The Lorax, Corduroy, Brave Irene, Alexander and the Terrible HorribleNo Good Very Bad Day, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Make Way for Duckings and Olivia (series).

Print Awareness

Emphasizing the importance of reading helps a child establish what educators call printawareness. The National Institute for Literacy states: Print awareness is an important part of knowing how to read and write. Children who know about print understand that the words they see in print and the words they speak and hear are related.

It’s not difficult to encourage print awareness in children on a daily basis. In doing so you are helping them on the road to literacy. While shopping at any store, children can be made aware of print that shows where food items are. Children exposed to television often recognize products like cereal from the bold colors of the packaging, but stressing the words on the package helps underline print awareness. Working with alphabet letters you can show how letters work together to 1.) tell a story; 2) list choices on a menu; 3) warn of danger; 4) give directions. Print awareness can be emphasized and reinforced through daily living.

There’s nothing more exciting than receiving that first print message from your child or grandchild. They are totally proud and you receive their love and excitement about life through a medium of their own creation.

Once a love of print and reading is established just watch them go! My granddaughter can get so involved in a book that she sometimes doesn’t hear us saying goodnight. In a few more years, she will be devouring the next list: the top 10 books for young adults ages 12 and up. They include: 1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, 2. HarryPotter (series), 3.The Book Thief, 4. A Wrinkle in Time, 5. Charlotte’s Web, 6.Holes, 7.Matilda, 8. The Outsiders, 9. The Phantom Tollbooth and 10. The Giver. Others on the list include: Are You There God It’s Me Margaret,To Kill a Mockingbird, Roll ofThunder Hear My Cry,Anne of Green Gables (series), The Chronicles of Narnia (series), Monster, The Golden Compass, The Diary of a Young Girl, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweller, Looking for Alaska, The CuriousIncident of the Dog in the Night-Time,Little House on the Prairie (series), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Wonder, The Once and Future King (series).

Nonfiction writer Michael Lewis says: As a kid I lived on a steady diet of The Hardy Boys and Archie comic books, without the slightest sense there was anything better I might be doing with my time.

All reading starts us on a continuous print journey. As we grow, more and more our ability to read and understand print is the difference between educated choices and confusion or the inability to progress in life. Facility with reading and understanding enriches our lives and helps us navigate documents, educate ourselves about jobs, health, travel, legal obligations, purchasing options–the list is endless.

How satisfying to realize that reading a favorite newspaper, magazine or book continues to increase our print awareness. Computer technology is changing so rapidly, it is said that what students learn in the first 3 years of computer tech will be outdated when it’s time for them to graduate. Speed reading, anyone?

Good News: How to Help a Child’s Cognitive Development

Finally, the Institute for Education states that surprisingly, reading for pleasure was found to be more important for a child’s cognitive development between ages 10 and 16 than their parents’ level of education. “The combined effect on children’s progress of reading books often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree.”

So love those words–and get thee to the library. Shakespeare would agree.

Watch: CBS News celebrates immortal children’s books. See how many of the books pictured you read as a child! Watch it here.

Thanks to Time Magazine, December 2014

Print awareness–creativity and love combine.

So glad I have a granddaughter and a well-read copy of Goodnight Moon.

10 thoughts on “Loving Those Images, Then–Loving Those Words”

I have been reading to my daughter since she was in the womb. I used to put headphones on my belly that were attached to a microphone and I’d read her Little Golden Books that I’d gotten at the Good will store for a few dimes. Once she was born of course I read to everything I could to her. She started picking up books and “reading” them on her own at about age 3. Of course she wasn’t reading but she thought she was.
My husband thought I was crazy to read to her in the womb, he used to laugh at me. He thought it was nuts to read to her before she could talk. However, my wonderful 9 year old Gracie is an incredible reader now. In fact she’s not just in the highest reading group but she’s also in a special reading group called RTI Plus One. RTI started out in schools as a way to help kids that were struggling with reading. Over time it evolved to get advanced readers into more developed reading and now encompasses several different levels of reading skills.
We recently had to go out and buy Grace a new bookcase because she has so many books. Her book collection ranges from simple chapter books to more advanced junior novels such as Charlotte’s Web, Harry Potter and the Wolves of the Beyond Series. She reads comic books, magazines and has already devoured the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series more than once! Yes, she re-reads books.
I spent much of my life reading books, I still do. I find that it makes school easier, it helps my own writing skills and it brings me immense joy. I am thankful my daughter has the same love of reading!
You cannot go wrong encouraging reading to your little ones!

Natalie, this is great, truly. You are helping Grace down a pathway that will serve her well. Each of us has to make our own way in life. Mom and Dad aren’t always going to be there to hold our hands and reading is the key to knowledge, doing well in school and thus getting good employment down the road. You are doing wonderful things for her. Take care and thanks for being a loyal reader of Boomer Highway. Beth

This is a very enlightening and wonderful BOOMER HIGHWAY. As we grow, we never really realize all the little elements that make us who we are. And here we learn how print awareness helps us to grow into real readers. Watching my great nieces and nephews begin to read on their own, is truly exciting. It also make grandmothers very happy too 🙂

I loved the stat that reading to your child and helping them learn to read is even better than a parent having a degree–to make them literate. Again, growing up we saw books everywhere in the house–the front hall, the dining room, the living room and even up in Mom’s bedroom. She was always reading a book. I wish we had
all the old books we had as children. I have a few of them and they certainly are precious. Me

Hi Rena! You will love it. Reading to them is wonderful and you should do one of those Hallmark Books where you can record your voice and you are actually reading the book to them if you aren’t right there. It’s very cool. Beth

One thing I’m very grateful for is that my son has a love for reading and has even been identified in his school as one of the advanced readers. I do feel blessed that it’s one area I don’t have to work hard for with him. I’d like to think that reading with him early on helped, but I also credit his teachers for that. Words are wonderful and I hope that parents will nurture the interest in their kids whenever possible. (P.S. Goodnight Moon was an early favorite in our family!)

Hi Joy, you are so right. The ability to appreciate and love the printed word is so important in one’s advancement in life. Learning to read is one thing, loving to read is another. Glad he thrives on it. My two older daughters always loved to read. My son, it’s not something he gravitates to and yet he’s of this younger generation–the digital age–he reads stuff online, but often that does not mean books. His love is music. And I do know he loved GOOD NIGHT MOON. Thanks . Beth